All sinners can be converted through the Gospel if all will repent and believe. After that they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and it is the Holy Spirit who supernaturally REGENERATES the believer. That is the New Birth, when a person is born from above, born of the Spirit, born or God, or born again.
That is correct. The gift of the Holy Spirit PRECEDES the New Birth. Kindly notice the sequence of events in Ephesians 1:12-14: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
It is crystal clear from this passage that the Gospel comes first, then comes saving faith, then comes the gift of the Holy Spirit, and then comes the sealing with the Spirit. "The redemption of the purchased possession" speaks of the ultimate perfection and glorification of the saints.
If by that you mean that the Gospel regenerates then that is not how it works. It is the Holy Spirit -- God Himself -- who regenerates a sinner and makes him or her a child of God. But the Gospel GENERATES saving faith and that is perfectly clear in Romans chapter 10. Therefore Paul says in Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
This is reinforced in Romans 16:25,26 where the Gospel brings about "the obedience of faith" (obedience to the Gospel): Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my Gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
That is correct. The gift of the Holy Spirit PRECEDES the New Birth. Kindly notice the sequence of events in Ephesians 1:12-14: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
It is crystal clear from this passage that the Gospel comes first, then comes saving faith, then comes the gift of the Holy Spirit, and then comes the sealing with the Spirit. "The redemption of the purchased possession" speaks of the ultimate perfection and glorification of the saints.
If by that you mean that the Gospel regenerates then that is not how it works. It is the Holy Spirit -- God Himself -- who regenerates a sinner and makes him or her a child of God. But the Gospel GENERATES saving faith and that is perfectly clear in Romans chapter 10. Therefore Paul says in Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
This is reinforced in Romans 16:25,26 where the Gospel brings about "the obedience of faith" (obedience to the Gospel): Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my Gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
Eph 1:12a to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory... - The nature of this statement says that something came before. What was "to the end" or "to the purpose of"? This takes us back to verse 11: Eph 1:11a in whom also we were made a heritage,... (We - believers, were made a heritage, [Past tense], which takes us back to Eph. 1:4. Therefore), Eph 1:11b ..having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will; (God "chose" before the foundation of the world those who would be Christ's heritage and "foreordained" them according to His purpose... not our purpose.
Eph 1:12b ..we who had before hoped in Christ: (Herein meaning, Paul and the earliest believers who had first put their hope in Christ. This is contrasted and compared to the beginning of verse 13.).
Eph 1:13a in whom ye also,..(They who also believed later what they heard.), ..having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, (The Gospel points to Christ, for those that can hear and understand the message. Hearing and understanding means that their "nature", and "ability", have already been altered. They have already been "born from above" [John 3:1-10]. Eph 1:13b --in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, There are many stages of the Holy Spirits work in the redeemed. 1.) He Regenerates those who the Lord sends Him to - this produces a new nature. 2.) He helps guide us to Christ, through the Gospel. (The actual time difference between 1 & 2, might be milliseconds, for all we know - since step one is a completely mysterious work of the Spirit acting upon the sinner. 3.) The moment we "Repent" and "Believe", we are sealed by the Spirit - given to us as an "earnest" - a "promissory note" if you will; having the seal of our Great King of kings, until "ALL THINGS" are completed in Christ. (Eph. 1:10). 4.) Gifts of the Spirit are distributed unto believers as God sees fit.
Eph 1:14 which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession, unto the praise of his glory. ( "To the praise of His Glory" - takes us back to the beginning of this sentence. Did you know that Eph. 1:3-14, in the Greek, is one long, continuous sentence.
Lastly -- You did not really answer my #1 question. So I ask you again: What would be the purpose of being "born from above", if a person has the ability to repent and believe already?